One Degree West in Aylesbury Road, near Haddenham, was declared the overall winner of the prestigious Aylesbury Vale District Council Design Awards at a ceremony on November 13.

AVDC runs the Design Awards every year to recognise and celebrate the best examples of good building design and to encourage higher standards of design and construction.

The shortlisted entries were judged, following site visits, by a panel of councillors, award-winning architect Stephen Luxford, and built environment professionals from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and Kent Architecture Centre. Projects were assessed against a range of criteria, including how well they fit into their surroundings, quality of design and construction, sustainability, innovation and attractiveness.

In the case of One Degree West, the judges praised the excellent use of light internally, the energy efficient heating and cooling system, and the attention to detail in the design. The house was designed for Mr and Mrs Brandon by Brocklehurst Architects of West Wycombe.

The panel also awarded a 'highly commended' certificate for an extension to Old Thatch in Edlesborough, which was designed by architect Richard Onslow of Soulbury and built by Mead Estates Ltd for Mr and Mrs O'Neill. The judges considered this to be a good contemporary extension to an historic building.

The judges also awarded commendation certificates to three other well-designed schemes.

These were:
·New studio building, Pitstone – a good, small domestic project, designed by C Davy Associates of Hemel Hempstead, and built by AK Wright for Mr and Mrs Timbrell
·Ground Farm Barn, Oving – a good, sustainable conversion of a farm building to residential use, designed by I S Mills Associates of Bicester for Mr and Mrs Peeters
·Old Market House, Buckingham – a good commercial conversion of an historic building, designed by the Macmillan-Scott Practice of Alton for Prezzo plc.

The winners were presented with certificates by Councillor Sue Polhill, the Cabinet Member for Planned Development, and Councillor Netta Glover, Chairman of the Council, at a ceremony at the council's Gateway offices in Aylesbury.

Councillor Polhill was impressed by the high standard of entries received. "We've been delighted once again with the overall standard and the award winners deserve the highest praise," she said. "These awards form part of the council's continued commitment to encouraging and supporting good architecture and design within the district. We want developers, architects and the public to think imaginatively about design and work together to create better places to live."

Would you like to nominate a building for the design awards?

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